A premiership race for the ages

The inscrutable 2014 NRL premiership continues to toss up banana peels and minor miracles, landmines and stays of execution for its 16 nerve-jangled combatants – and it’s resulting in the closest and most fascinating title race in the code’s history.

Nine rounds of the regular season remain and the bulk of the premiership field can barely be split. The top 10 sides are separated by just four competition points; there’s a three-way tie for first spot on the ladder, while an incredible seven clubs are deadlocked for fourth.

Two unfathomable victories by embattled Cronulla have rocked the top-four aspirations of Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters. Melbourne, New Zealand and St George Illawarra are right back in the mix after being written off at various stages of the season. Fairytale sides Parramatta and Wests Tigers have got the wobbles and slipped out of the top eight – but both are still just a win shy of an all-important top four berth.

And the Manly Sea Eagles, the only team to avoid a slump at any stage this season, butchered a chance to push their claims for the minor premiership by tripping up against tenacious Canterbury.

Momentum is the most precious commodity in the NRL at this stage of the season, but it is also as rare as a Todd Carney Dry July campaign. The longest active winning streak in the competition is two games, achieved by five clubs – three of which are sitting outside the top eight, including two of the bottom three sides. At the other end of the scale, the Titans and Raiders are the only two teams on a losing run of more than two games.

With chip firmly on shoulder, this parity and unpredictability is why NRL fans and powerbrokers sit back smugly, steadfast in the knowledge their product is the best going around. Admittedly, the AFL and Super XV are both enjoying their closest and most open seasons in recent memory. But much like the FIFA World Cup, both competitions are destined to be fought out between the three or four usual suspects.

As many as 11 clubs could be considered genuine title contenders as the NRL minor premiership heads into the home stretch.

Sharks’ mini-fairytales in a nightmare season

It was best of times, it was the worst of times. That’s the scenario down in the Shire, at least, after the hapless Cronulla Sharks once again set aside the drama to produce their second scarcely believable comeback triumph in a row.

In round 16, the Sharks overcame the fallout surrounding Paul Gallen’s extraordinary spray to record the biggest comeback in their history and the equal-seventh greatest of all time, overhauling a 22-point deficit to roll Brisbane 24-22. The victory was in spite of not having scored a point in over five hours of football.

But after the sacking of star playmaker Todd Carney, interim coach Peter Sharp’s resignation and the absence of Gallen and Luke Lewis – the team’s backbone – on Origin duty, Cronulla was in line for a cricket-score beating at the hands of the defending premiers. Surely. Instead, the Sharks reined in the Roosters, who led 24-0 after half an hour, to score a euphoric 30-28 win.

The club long renowned for having a pop-gun attacking arsenal is now the co-holder of the second largest comeback in premiership history.

Arguably no side has ever been beleaguered by so many serious, bizarre and tumultuous setbacks in one season as the Sharks have in 2014 – and they may still wind up with their first wooden spoon in 45 years. But it is doubtful any team in rugby league’s rich narrative has produced two performances of such character, against such insurmountable odds, back-to-back as Cronulla has in its truth-is-stranger-than-fiction fortnight.

Week to remember for …

Canterbury shed its Origin absentee woes and regained a share of the competition lead via a 23-16 defeat of Manly, a major short-handed upset brimming with grit and class. Des Hasler out-coached his protégé Geoff Toovey with some calculated selection gambles, while the Bulldogs took a giant stride towards a top-four berth.

Week to forget for …

A heaving Leichhardt Oval crowd wasn’t enough to lift the Origin- and injury-hit Wests Tigers, crashing to a 26-10 loss to Penrith – the only margin in the last two rounds to exceed 12 points. The influence of Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods was clearly missed, but it is the season-ending injury suffered by James Tedesco that is ultimately like to derail the Tigers’ top eight quest.

Play of the week

Gareth Widdop’s floating cut-out pass to send Charly Runciman over for the Dragons’ first try was right out of the top drawer, a breathtaking ball the likes of Johns, Lockyer and Fittler would have been proud to call their own. The 27-24 defeat of the Cowboys has the Saints on the cusp of the top eight again, and the form of Widdop and Benji Marshall has revitalised the joint venture’s sagging campaign.

Blunder of the week

Roosters skipper Anthony Minichiello’s ill-advised offload near his own line went straight to Wade Graham, gifting the Sharks their first try and the impetus to craft a mindboggling comeback.

Standout performer

Widdop and Marshall may have been the architects, but ultra-consistent winger Jason Nightingale’s brilliant hat-trick was the key factor in the Dragons’ win on Saturday night. Meanwhile, veteran Bulldogs rake Michael Ennis is having his best season since 2009, masterminding the upset of Manly and sealing it with a field goal and late try.

Monday night

The Gold Coast Titans have not won a game in two-and-a-half months, but there’s something in the NRL’s water at present and a boilover against Souths could be on the cards. Both teams have big Origin outs, but the injury-ravaged Titans will be the more desperate side at ANZ Stadium.